PepsiCo lifts guidance after strong second quarter

Drinks and snacks giant PepsiCo reported a solid second-quarter performance on Thursday, topping expectations and leading to an upward revision of its guidance for the second consecutive quarter.

The company reported net income of $2.75bn, or $1.99 per share, up from $1.43bn or $1.03 per share a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.09, well ahead of FactSet’s consensus estimate for $1.96.

The firm’s revenue also showed strong growth, reaching $22.32bn compared to $20.23bn at the same time last year.

That figure also beat consensus expectations, which were for $21.73bn.

In terms of geographical performance, Latin America revenues were up 18%, while Europe was ahead 13%.

However, revenue from Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia declined 8% on the year.

On the other hand, revenue in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand and China, showed a modest improvement of 1%.

“We are very pleased with our performance for the second quarter as our business momentum remains strong,” said chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Laguarta.

“As a result, we now expect our full-year organic revenue to increase 10% - previously 8% - and our core constant currency earnings per share to increase 12% - previously 9%.”

Laguarta said the firm’s strong performance and the progress it was making on its strategic priorities gave it confidence that the investments it was making were working.

“Moving forward, we will look to elevate our focus on productivity initiatives to further support investments in innovation, brand building, digitalisation, and sustainability to win in the marketplace and fortify our businesses for the long-term.”

At 1050 EDT (1550 BST), shares in PepsiCo were up 0.52% at $184.13.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.